


The Library.

by Accio_Finn_Nelson7



Category: My Mad Fat Diary
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-06-28
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:34:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7327510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Accio_Finn_Nelson7/pseuds/Accio_Finn_Nelson7
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Open a book<br/>And you will find<br/>People and places of every kind;<br/>Open a book<br/>And you can be<br/>Anything that you want to be;<br/>Open a book<br/>And you can share<br/>Wondrous worlds you find in there;<br/>Open a book<br/>And I will too<br/>You read to me<br/>And I’ll read to you.<br/>             - Jane Baskwill.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Library.

Rae ran her finger down the spine, feeling a shiver run down her own. The only difference between the two was this was worn, pages peaking through the crack and her’s was fresh; yet to be touched. She sighed, she must’ve read every single fiction book in here by now - everything from Austen to even that bloody, Twilight woman. She left the non-fiction, such as studies of the human body, to the students. 

She scowled, pushing back her glasses that framed her face in the most unflattering way and pulled back a book from the shelf and one below it - cradling them in the crook that met between her elbow and her arm. Some lazy, careless student had put one of the newer copies of Midsummer Night’s Dream in the endless row of Paper Towns; _How disrespectful to Shakespeare_ Rae bitterly thought.

She scanned the John Green section to find the newer, less tattered spines and saw a gap. It gave a teasing glimpse at a table, it was placed right in the center; two places to the left of the mobile shelves and two places to the right of the colourful array of bean bag chairs that had been placed to look “Hip” And attract the younger students;

It never did work.

Well, it did for one…

He was there, head down and brow deeply furrowed. He rarely looked up, _probably did not want to look at us “Lesser” People came_ from Rae’s envious mind. Even the top of his head was pretty, wisps of caramel brown ran and intertwined with darker tones that adorned a scruff of waves. On those rare occasions that he did look up, whether it to glance around or to take a break and stretch; Rae’s always found herself watching his eyes as they wandered in curious awe; brown. Brown as the wet springs that hue promises of new, speckles of gold that ran rings around the center and displayed the inner fire that he tamed so well. His face was just as beautiful; when he first began to come Rae was told he was her age and Rae did not believe it. Although he was finely-built, a manly body, he had such a young face and it led Rae to first believe he was one of the younger students that often ran in to panic cram the night before an exam. What was the name of this delightful creature you may ask?

Finn Nelson.

A name spoke with desire by women across the campus, and spoke with envy by many men. It often made Rae wonder why he came in, especially on a Saturday. He was intelligent and she noticed he was always first to be done with assignments, so, why did he always come? And, he always read the same book - how long was Pride & Prejudice? There must have been secret pages Rae did not know about, for he never seemed to be done with it. He always either left it halfway or one side bulging and the other very thin where the finish line was in sight, did he not want to know the end? Within the time Finn had got even remotely close to the ending, Rae had read it all at least twice, including the blurb and front cover. 

She glanced at the clock and saw the time before her eyes darted back to Finn. Just like clockwork did he scratch the back of his left ear, give a little yawn and wriggle before then returning to reading. How predictable.

She blinked, her eyes flickering upon realising she was staring. She put the book in the empty slot, giving the man his privacy and went back to correcting the shelves. Rae had to admit, his presence did irritate her some days. He never did say hello, and some times it really annoyed her. It was almost as if he thrived off of being arrogant, she knew he was quiet but even a tight lipped smile went a long way with her - after all she deserved it after two years of putting away that bloody book for him,

“Do you need any help?”

Rae jumped, the books coming down in a thunderous clap as they clattered against one another. She began to apologise as she bent down and frantically began to collect the scattered books, she dare not look up. Two bear claws for hands came in to view, sun kissed and smooth from the days of sitting on the greenery outside. His hands told stories, stories of the spines of the many women his fingers ran down,

“Don’t, I-I’ve got it,” She stuttered, flustered, before then sternly stating, “I’ve got it,”

All books were collected and the two rose, straightening themselves out. He sent her an awkward smile as he handed over the two books and she snatched them, mumbling a quiet ‘Thank you’ Before scurrying off. Well, almost. She stopped and turned to see he was now dangerously close, eyes eager and smile annoyingly patronizing,

“Yes?” She huffed, “Do you need a book?”

She hadn’t meant to have been so hostile, but around anyone to do with him or Finn himself and Rae was on full guard. He looked a little taken aback at her snappy tones, for usually she was such a quiet girl;

“You didn’t answer my question," 

He frowned, his un-groomed yet perfectly tamed and thick brows knitted together as he looked offended at her ignorance. She took a moment, before then shaking her head upon remembrance,

"No, honestly I’m-” She stopped herself as the books almost slipped from her grasp, not defending her lie, “I’m fine,”

He cocked an eyebrow before shaking his head. He outstretched his hands slowly, almost as if approaching a wild animal and slid them around the pile of books - his fingers brushing past her right breast. He neatly piled them up and then raised his eyebrows at her and the endless rows behind her. Rae turned and beckoned him to follow; hoping he missed the natural blush that dusted across her warm cheeks. 

She moved to the correct shelf and stopped, almost bumping in to him as she forgot to warn him that there was a stop. He clutched the heavy books to his stomach and wished she would hurry up on telling him the placement, he wondered how could she do this so often? The weight of stories was beginning to give him a teeth gritting ache, it was a wonder how she wasn’t a body builder. 

Before she could take the books, he retracted them back; stepping away,

“No, I’m helping,”

His persistence to help made her wonder, what was in it for him? She shook her head and told him exactly where and as he began to eagerly put them all neatly away, she watched with curiosity. There had to be something in it for him, maybe he wanted free library books or maybe his friends had made a bet amungst themselves - a joke at her expense. It would not surprise her, Rae was often the prime target of their inner circle. It was why she liked the library, not one of them aside from Finn would dare step foot within the library - almost melting and hissing as they stepped even so much as a toe on to the sacred paper grounds,

“Look, what do you want?”

Rae huffed. And there was that brow knitted look of offence again,

“Huh?” He asked, lowering his arms as he put the final book on the shelf,

“Well, I mean you’ve never asked to help and… Well… Look, if you want free books or anything then I can’t give you that and so if-”

“Whoa whoa whoa,” He interjected, with a little laugh, “Rae, I’m not here for free books.”

She would get to why he was here in a moment, something else that sparked her interested lead her to ask,

“How do you know my name?”

She sounded almost offended that he knew her name. He too now frowned and shrugged,

“Well shouldn’t I? We’re in every class together and I’m here every Saturday, it’d be plain ignorant of me not to know who you are,”

“Right,” She nodded, attempting to hold back a bashful smile, “Ok, back to my point, why are you here?”

There was a pause and his mouth opened a little before clamping shut. A sudden warming of natural, bashful pink splashed his cheeks… She had made him, blush? She moved her hands, egging him on; a silent warning for him to hurry up. But he had no answer, and she had found the childishness of it silly. And so, Rae did what she did best; turn and walk. Pushing her glasses back up her nose, she turned a corner but coming to an abrupt halt as his hand curled around the crook of her arm; she was turned to face him and found her own self speechless as he blurted out,

“Look, we got off on the wrong foot. Let’s start over, I’m Finn,”

He put out a hand before him and Rae raised an eyebrow at him and the gesture, he huffed before jokingly grabbing hers and connecting them together; formally shaking them,

“You didn’t need to tell me who you are,” Off of his look, she caught herself and corrected her statement as she took back her hand, “I-I’m just saying, everyone knows who you are,”

“Ah,” He nodded, embarrassed, “My reputation precedes me,”

She felt the need to apologise and state she did not mean it like that, but upon seeing he was more than happy to invade her space - she kept quiet. The two began to walk, Rae correcting any books along the way. It was apparent he wasn’t as quiet as what she originally thought, for he continued to ramble on. A question falling from his mouth that was more than intrusive,

“So,” He drew out, looking around, “Does your boyfriend help out?”

She scoffed at this, “Me? A boyfriend? Please tell me you are joking,”

He shook his head, he was gravely serious. He seemed a little offended, yet again, that she would take his questioning as a joke. Which made her wonder, why did he want to know? Whether she had a boyfriend was irrelevant, which she pointed out,

“Now, now, no need to get defensive. I was just asking,”

“No, you’re not the type of boy to ask something and it be just a question,”

She had him there, which he admitted. But how could he explain of how the reason why he came here for the past two years was standing right in front him, and that he only ever read the same book because he saw she had read it twice - once in the library and once on the campus green. He hated Jane Austen, it was why he never did a course in English Lit. How could he subtly let her know that he asked, because he was completely infatuated with her? 

“Honestly, was just curiosity,”

She accepted this and another silence overcame them. But he didn’t want silence, he wanted to hear what ran through her mind. What was the quote that had captivated her heart throughout the many pages she had read, what was her favourite genre, who was her favourite fictional character of all time… But alas, that would have to wait as they had done a lap of the library and were now at the desk,

“Thanks for, you know, helping,” She awkwardly stated. 

“Not a problem,” He smiled and she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before disappearing into the back room. He waited till she was out of sight before he exhaled, eyes widening. He found  himself disappointed that he had came up empty handed, it had taken him two years to speak to her and compared to all the fantasies he had imagined how this was supposed to go - but just to Finn’s luck the latter of the worst had came up champion out of them all. 

_Well, there was always next Saturday…_


End file.
